Thursday, 21 February 2019

Helene Lacelle and ZOLTAR, her mentor
helping her find a Beautiful Bachelor in Evanchuck's docudramedy, 'THE
SEARCH FOR A BEAUTIFUL BACHELOR.' (Photo by Peter Evanchuck)

YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT U WANT – FILMMAKING IN CANADA By Peter EvanchuckRecently Soderbergh’s ‘UNSANE’ created a
stir in the film community since his half dozen or so DOP’s all used
iphones to create the media and after spending a million on making it,
he released it.It’s release wasn’t to his satisfaction
since it sort of bombed at the box. His response to this was rather
remarkable to we Canadian filmmakers.He had only $20 million for
marketing/promotion of the feature. That he states, wasn’t enough. He
assures his readers that at least $30 million is necessary to create the
buzz needed to get the bums in the seats of theatres across the U.S.These costs are absurd to any Canadian filmmaker since no one ever or seldom gets that kind of money – even to make the feature.My little movies struggle like I do
with my cancer to get out and about in a very controlled American
domination of our theatres and media outlets.All that aside, I and others have used
digital to continue to ‘tell our stories’ and use whatever outlets we
can to expose those tales to interested viewers. The problem of course
is how to make some rent money to pay the bills.At the present I’m roaming from Ontario
to Nova Scotia shooting scenes for my latest docudramedy ‘THE SEARCH
FOR A BEAUTIFUL BACHELOR.’The story is revealed partly with documentary footage, dramatic footage all with a sensible sense of humour.And that my fellow videographers is
where this filmmaker stands firmly in the grip of low budget movie
making like so many other Canadians who have a yearning to understand
life around them.PS: i just heard that Netflix intends
to open a major studio in Toronto. Perhaps taxfree Netflix might have to
pay some taxes into the media fund and fund more Canadian storytellers.

Sunday, 16 December 2018

The fim Unsane. shot with an iPhone 7. was Soderbergh entering into a completely new era... sort of.
Those of us who are low or no budget filmakers viewed digital as our miracle creative helper - we could get access to the equipment through the Film Co-op for a steal of a deal or buy it used at a very reasonsble price, and make movies for peanauts and some chicken feed. Which for some of us meant no more chasing the beaurotcrats at various funding agencies pleading for money to make our films to create our dreams, thoughts and ideas of Canada to Canadians... how novel, eh?
For we low/no budget filmakers the film, Unsane became our flag raised high. Here was a great director making movies with an iPhone 7 or so I thought. Ok, making films with 7 iPhones and 7 camera people but making them for a million dollar budget...well well.
I was saddened when I found out on IMBD that the financing for Unsane is 1.5 million budget. I was disppointed because a million bucks in Canada means an enormous budget that few of us ever manage to raise to make our films.
Soderbergh of course has such a great track record and the fact that he’s a US filmmaker means that he has financing and distribution and promotion with one phone call. Something that would never happen to a Canadian filmmaker since we never get the opportunity to create a track record of such huge proportions .... we don’t have Hollywoody North only beaurocrats and a very diminished NFB. We don’t even have talk shows where independents can voice their creative projects while the US has hundreds of promotional shows that highlight creative people.
I wondered, how did Soderbergh use all that money since he was using rented iPhone 7’s? Since much of the money for digital is in post and I can’t find out how all that money was spent on post. I surmised it was probably locations, actors, crew and post but a million bucks, that ain’t chicken feed.
Anyway you look at it, being famous before going for money is very helpful, being UNfamous like most Canadians isn’t. How the hell are we ever going to convince Netflix to pay taxes and support Canadian films which I think would be good for everybody.
That’s not INSANE that’s UNSANE...

Tuesday, 11 December 2018

O f course like so many others i was hoping my elder years would be spent in a reasonably healthy manner creating my legacy ..... so to speak i.e. doing creative work for the love of creative art.

Well the best laid plans of 'mice and men' as that adage goes- cancer has taken over a major portion of my life as i find it more and more difficult to make movies .... most are on standby.

Instead i've returned to my writing and my photography creating Marveous Realism with my partner H.L. - a series of very unique art works are made where both hi tech and tradional methods are used to give the viewer an outstanding way of seeing the worl around us.

Of course my spinal cancer and lower back cancer isn't making things easier.

I no longer can hold my larger camera outstreched to get a shot so i've purchased smaller ones that allow me to continue shooting but slower and less often than when i was healthy i.e. B.C.

Depression is a hard journey and one must work hard not to fall into that terrible state - i keep exercising and healthy living and resting as my daily life. As most know, exerecise is vital to a helathymind . Combined with the creative life one can life as successfully as possilbe - stress is a killer.

People often tell me how good i look for someone that has had 4 major surgeries, can hardly turn my neck from the two neck surgeries, my shoulders are seperated and require replaement surgery , I've had so much radiation that i can no longer tolerate it and now am on chemo.... my future looks bleak given all that but i do't see it that way - creative work and a positive attitude, exercise, rest all have contributed to help me still see the world as a positive place that i want to contribute to and live in.

I welcome each morning regardless of my pain or soreness or my diminishing energy. That i can rest well and face my illness with courage and live as fully as i can .. is my gift or so a nurse told me.

here i am after my 4th surgery - 2 neck surgeries: trach in for a year - life goes on cancer with me for life now on chemo

opens 31July to end of August - PART ONE ( PART TWO all Sept )
Chez Luciene, 137 Murray Street, Ottawa all day to last call

LACELLE and EVANCHUCK have been life and creative partners for decades
making all sorts of creative works like marvelous realism ( using
modern&traditional methods of media soft&hard ware films like
'pigGIRLinWONDERLAND', docs like 'A SHORT HISTORY of POVERTY', numerous
art and photo shows in Canada, USA and Europe and presently in group;
show at 'theTATEexchange' in Liverpool,

their films can be seen at movieshandmade.com they curate at
goopmailart.blogspot.ca ( an international free art exchange ) their
creative photography/art at marvelousrealismcanada.blogspot.ca

they presently are travelling middle and eastern Canada recording using
varous media the sights and sounds that interest them - like
worldheritage sites, small towns, nature and people

Thursday, 19 July 2018

Peter Evanchuck likes to be free flowing and in the moment to keep the purity in his art. (Photo by Helene LAcelle)

CONNECTING - PETER EVANCHUCK

'KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID.'' By Peter EvanchuckI was recently in Toronto watching a buddy, and his musician pals lay down tracks of their original music. These guys are all, and most were, in their day quite famous.Shawn O'Connor, (originally from Saint John ), gathered all the musicians for the event and hired the sound studio.Very pro, very impressive I thought as my gaze drifted over the sound mixing board. These days, I seldom get to 'sit in' on significant studio events. Even in today's world of everyone having a mini-studio connected to their computer. I thought this was unusual - seemed too big; looked like a setup more for established pop musicians feasting in the glory of fame and fortune than these guys who had their day.Anyway, there they were laughing, joking and tuning up their instruments in one of Toronto's major sound studios.Shawn, bless his creative soul, was at 60 still plugging away not giving up the creative life for the humdrum life of safety, security and a large RRSP.It starts, it goes. We all enjoy the atmosphere, the skills. All the guys are looking and sounding so pro. At 1G a day it sounded fine.Then, the catastrophe that so often destroys the spontaneous originality of exceptional music 'of the moment' began. One musician wanted to tweak a riff then tweak more and a bit more until the unique quality of the spontaneous originality was gone.... more tweaking and more tweaking. The hours built up and, the overtime started and the 1G became 1.5G and grew.'Keep it Simple Stupid' was gone ... gone into the oblivion of intellect of too much thinking that led to too much tweaking and well the day was over, and I had gone back to my little world where tweaking is not allowed in my original work anymore. Yes, long ago I tweaked too like all tweakers and ruined many a scene.Here in Chipman, New Brunswick, my partner Helene Lacelle and I are keeping it very simple (I'm living with cancer ). We create small art films, significant short docs, larger simple films crew of two (me and her) and ideas that float through my head like stories that need to be told. No fluff, no silly derivative stories - pure and simple images, sounds and, in a way, some are full of fury.for those interested, please go to 4 of our sites:

Thursday, 7 June 2018

CONNECTING MEMBERS - PETER EVANCHUCK
OOS residents who have enjoyed seeing the work of artists and
filmmakers Peter Evanchuck and Helene Lacelle on display at Life of Pie,
1134 Bank Street, now have another opportunity to look at more of the
artists' quiet, thoughtful compositions. "Looking Back, Looking Forward"
is the current Evanchuck and Lacelle exhibition at Cafe Nostalgica on
the University of Ottawa campus, running until June 20th.
The artists have chosen eight framed works for the exhibition, and
have hung them on the walls of the cafe. The imagery is likely to prompt
a big of conversation among cafe patrons seated underneath the
pictures: "What is that? Do you remember...? Isn't that the Chateau
Laurier? Aren't they going to build..."
To read the full article: HERE

Saturday, 31 March 2018

THE ARTIST LIFE

HELENE LACELLE listens to the gypsy ZOLTAR in Niagara Falls for her role in EVANCHUCK's 'GOODIEmeetsHAPPY' - an absurd comedy

One of the many great things digital technology offers the creative
filmaker is 'cheap'. It brings out the creative artist since one does
NOT have to run around looking for money to start or complete a project.
Shooting film always forced money concerns on the creative artist - so
many became CFO's instead of filmmakers.
CFO's were forced to make long lists of financial needs and ways.
So, whatever creative artist they had in their blood was eradicated
slowly over time and they became show business producers instead. They
would revel in the money instead of the art.
Helene Lacelle and Peter Evanchuck prefer the creative artist
approach to filmaking so digital is their miracle. They make creative
flipbooks, shorts and most recently Lacelle used iMOVIE on her iMAC 21.5
to create personal docs she entitled, "Petit Voyage avec Pierre".

"Peter and I make numerous road trips so, using my simple mini
digital camera enables me to use footage not in a traditional movie way
but more in a creative artist way." - Helene

As a result, Helene's jaunts with Peter become these odd, remarkable and very personal mini documentaries.

Monday, 5 March 2018

Well i guess we've all had this miracle happen - well at least those who get off the couch and into a real living life.

Left Ottawa for Montreal to experience LUMIERE and NUIIT BLANCHE Saturday a couple day ago and to shoot some image/sound for my drama-documentary BEAUTIFUL BACHELORS.

Came up with a new inclusion to make B.B. slide from a pure Doc. into a dramatic doc with a story line. So HELENE is now a character looking for a 'new life' with some interesting bachelors like she lived before her life changed into seclusion and 'aloneness'

Her first encounter as she travels Canada is with ZOLTAR a gypsey fortune teller and from there she get clues on her life and how to aquire what she wants. ZOLTAR is a fortune telling machine that gives fortunes for money.

So there we are in Montreal and i'm shooting a scene using the background of 'the village' and a large display of Quebec artists mounted in the snow on large blocks of white walls. HELENE talks about her life with Jano both living to the fullest having a great time the years they spent together.

The foootage is good and so we're returning to the van and i'm shooting some cover shots when i hear HELENE yelling after me - there she was calling out, 'It's JANO'

So hugs and excited words and we can hardly believe that after 25 years we found each other again at the exact time i'm shooting a scene where HELENE is talking about her wonderful life living with him in Toronto.

Since when friends meet after decades apart usually the connetion is immediate like no time has past and what amazes me is that JANO recognized us walking on the street like it was yesterday.

He tells us we haven't changed and i can hardly beiieve is since i've been going thru a decade of Cancer treaments with 4 major surgeries, radiaitons, etc .... but he did recognize us immediately.

So it seems that somehow that movemenet of 'getting out there' created a miracle for us and for the movie - we now have a cetral character for the 'new' dramatized story version of BEAUTIFUL BACHELORS - now that's what i call a MONTREAL MIRACLE and certain put a LUMIERE on my life.

Friday, 2 February 2018

Many times i think i may have missed my chance to make 'BIGGER' movies since right now i'm going the other way i.e. 'MINI-MOVIES' and mostly docs with a smattering of dramatic/docs.

Way back when i completed my first feature avant guard drama PLATINUM, i was one of about 30 English Canadian filmakers. Since there's about 30,000 artists and/or photographers being 1 in 30 was an enormous advantage for 'getting out there' getting recognition and cash/help to make another movie.

Back then ( the wonderful 80's ) both Telefilm and NFB were very supportive of anyone that could show some talent and some durability and persistence .. which i could.

Thus i had all their assistance in development and with the NFB in completion - those were my glory days never to be repeated 'cause i was too independent and then along came digital.

digital meant that those first 30 feature filmakers of the mid 80's became 3,000 by the advent of digital and now probably have increased to 30,000 digital videographers.

This has given every TOM, DICK and JANE access to making their personal voice become public and in many cases un-deservingly so... since they really are not very creative and really have little voice to inform the audience of ( love ending my sentences with preps ?? )

But some things never change and when I was ed/;pub of MOTION magazine i tried to get the American domination of our screens to play on a level playing field but it never happened and by looking at the screens i see that it still doesn't happen - there is only modest improvement made by government and private organizations to maket/promote and screen our creative output.

Just look at Netflix or othere 'on line' outlets - they are littered with American domination as always. No matter how far back one goes that's always been the case. Exceptional Canadian film-makers not exit pronto to the HolyWoody of americana for the big bucks and the big blockbusters and even in Quebec that was the foundation of good films no longer has the talent or audience to make it all happen. It all coming apart not coming together

seperate notes from a fool that stayed in Canada::

Nevertheless, digital has made film-making or rather video-making commonplace instead of artistically and professional unique - like it or not it's a 21st century fact.

When i was ready to get back into it, i had to learn, purchase and develop video/digital skills. I needed my own equipment since i basically do much of the film-making process alone.

First my partner, HELENE LACELLE, and i created several outlets: bookshandmade.com for some modest publishing/marketing and selling books using the modern 'on line' methods. Then we created MARVELOUS REALISM a style developed from the original Meixican MAGIC REALISM. This style uses traditional photography techniques using digital hardware, software and our newly developed skills. Then along came movieshandmade.com and away we went.

After fiddling while my mind burned with renewed energy and ideas, i learned quickly that non ficiton was much easier to attain than fiction films/video; so, i made docs.

Long docs were more difficult that short docs; so, i developed 'mini-docs' all under 5min and all about things i knew something about... after all one should so what one knows best.

for anyone who's interested in the outcome please go to our sites and see the reality of my musings...

Wednesday, 24 January 2018

well it been a long while since i got back into the Babble with the Rabble of my mindless and mindful thoughts....

well got another emergency call from the General Hospital to attend a
meet in 6 hours with the spinal radiation specialist; so, instead of
enjoying a moderation of the arctic -30temps that have haunted my
outdoor life in Ottawa's Sandy Hill, i had to cancel my ski-out of the
day to prep for this meet and jusst went for a one hour hikeAlong the
Rideau Riverside.

My thoughts turning to a recent email received from one of my former
associates when i produced, cooked for and hosted a Toronto Soup Kitchen
at St. George's.

Haven't heard or seen him in a decade or more and receiving his email
about his robotic cancer surgery but nothing about how i feel or what
state my cancer is at.

Instead he offered his solution which was to write poetry to my Cancer as though it would listen or cause me some relief.

Being an avid lifelong filmaker i sent him my most recent mini-doc
called SOLITUDE - shot from my kayak during the water woods of NB i.e.
Spring floods produced a 'lakeinthewoods' thus i was able to kayak which
a month later would become impossibe since the earth would absorb the
water.

It's one of the miracles of daily kayaking most of the year to have this
amazing experience. Very meditative and very wonderful kayaking ......
floating thru the woods instead of hiking over them.

To help the viewer experience this meditative miracle i put a Tibetan
Bhuddists chant under the image.... and told my former collegue this was
my poetry ( he was well aware of my creative filmaking lifestyle . )

Instead of showing any interest in it at all he went into a tirade of
ridiculous ways of how to shoot image from my kayak - i would point out
that he's never been in a kayak, never been in NB, never been kayaking
in any kind of water source and never shot one inch of film/video
footage; thus, he qualifies to be the next PRESIDENT of the KNOWitALL
CLUB.

Because the PRESIDENT must know it all and do absolutely nothing about anything....

p.s. i should mention i know or knew many guys those years back who
would qualify for the PRESIDENCYof the KNOWitALL club not unlike that
idiot who now is President of America .... sad very sad.... he reminded
me of the patience I used ot have for such creatures of negativity...
and sometimes still tolerate them but not as often mmmm.

Tuesday, 23 January 2018

NBFC Weekly Friday E-News

ALL'S USUALLY WELL THAT CONTINUES WELL - THAT'S THE HOOK FOR AN ACCOMPLISHED LIFE

'WANDERING THOUGHTS FOR A WANDERING MIND'
Well after a long hiatus dealing with my cancer and creating 'real
and new' projects with my partner Helene Lacelle, I'm back at the helm
of my life despite my Cancer. (going in for 'robotic cyber-knife
radiation on my spine in a couple of weeks )
Been having memory problems with FCPro7 since it's a very
sophisticated software editing program (yes I'm still using it and not X
yet but will probably soon upgrade/change as there are no longer
updates for FC Pro 7. I guess age and illness and doing lots of shit
doesn't make the memory that agile, at least not mine. )
The question is whether to stay with FC or go with Premier which crosses platforms on Mac and Windows OS.
Anyway, I'm working away on a series of short documentaries because
they're cheap to make using digital gear and easier than fiction films
that require actors/scripts, etc.
Recently, I completed SOLITUDE, shooting from my kayak with my
Panasonic 770 in one hand and my kayak paddle in the other'. Not sure if
that qualifies as a 'run and gun' setup or a 'paddle&cam' style of
shooting. It's all very fast and easy since I hand hold rather than 'rig
a jig.'
SOLITUDE was shot in 3 hours while the Fundy Tide and Spring ice melt
raised the water levels on the Salmon River about 8' which made the
riverside woods a water wonderland - no earth to be seen.
For us kayakers it was a miracle paddle weaving my way through
birches and pines floating on water instead of stepping on earth; unique
indeed.
Moments like this make kayaking a true communing with nature event.
For those of us who experience nature in person and, not from our
computer screens, the 'feel' of such an experience blossoms our Spiritus
Sanctus. It's a religious definition of a miracle lived in reality.
I wish others could realize such experiences and as Archibald Lampman
in 'Morning on the Lievre' poetically phrases 'and to experience joy
like a child again.'
PS: just completing another short documentary entitled REMNANTS which
nostalgically traces the decline of the log river runs down the Salmon
River to the mill. Interweaving the past with my present kayak paddle
along the shore of the Salmon River documenting the remnants of the old
ways from river log jams before they began hauling the logs with tractor
trailers. 'ART never SLEEPS'

Monday, 22 January 2018

Take off 'get outta Dodge' pronto tonto as often as u can - and get invigorated and get those sleepies outta ya.

RL Stevenson when asked why he travels his answer was simple and real , 'I travel to move.' - shake the foundation of ur lethargy by travelling to new adventures that offer some level of risk - the braver u are the bigger the risk and, i think, the greater the creative rewards.

Well cancer has curbed my great adventures but i still have some reasonable juice left in me to 'get the hell outta Dodge' - now if u don't know that that exprssion means let me enlighten ur old school notions of ur life in the slow lane.

Getting outta Dodge does not mean a place but a mind set. IT means that a creative person has to shake their brain as often as necessary to keep it acitve, alive and functioning at some higher than normal creative level.

so if u're stuck in the muck of ur dull existence don't blame or shame the messanger but look in the mirror and see the culprit.

grab ur keys, grab ur lunch and put a bunch of k's on ur RAV and make some movies....

Saturday, 13 January 2018

Well HELENE and I are versatile for sure - yesterday for example we did a CURB UR ENTHUSIASM mmoment.

We had to rebuild our recent side yard fence due to neighbour's roof snow piling up and pushing our fence apart. He put his tarp-shed against his garage directly on his property line and years back he removed his roof clips that hold the snow from sliding down and covering our property - well Larry David would have a field day dealing with neighbour events like that.

Nayway, onward we go with out 'art' recenly being accepted at the Shenkman Gallery in Orleans ( a 'burb of Ottawa ) as well, we have pieces at the ART HOUSE GAllery on Somerset and the Ottawa Gallery locally.

So although thse are 'art pieces' not movies they keep us creative. And with our latest creations MARVELOUS REALISM they actually sell so we get some coin to spend. These are photos of various interesting culture moments in time like the Abandoned Homes of NB and the Blueberry shacks on hwy 7 near Perth. These photos are embellished by Helene using traditional as well as modern photo shop techniques to creat a different 'feel' to the original images.

All very creative and interesting

of course i should mention that i'm creating mini-docs with a historical base i.e. the decline of river log runs on the Salmon River in NB and my kayaking the water flooded woods after the ice melt and the Spring floods of the Salmon RIver. And a group of docs dealing with mental illness, poverty and homelessness.

Today i hope to complete REMNANTS the river loggin mini-doc and move on to PIG GIRL in WONDERLAND which Helene not only is starring in but helping me make it both on camera and production assistant

then tucked away in my archives ihave this novel which i'm turning into a script WHY INJUN JOE KILLED MARY MOTHER OF GOD.

sooooo enough versatiity to keep all of us active and creative and accomplished

p.s. i perhaps should mention that all of this is depsite my lifelong fight with Cancer that has now spread into my spine - last week i went for two biospies the lower spine showed nothing alarming but the upper spine showed spread of my thyroid cancer into my spine and the collapse of vertebrae - so this week i'm off to meet with the neurosurgeon re surgery to reinforce that collapse after my robotic cyber radiation on the affected area.... my upper back still very sore from that upper back biopsie where they used hammer and chisel to get some bone fragments - very sore...

Monday, 8 January 2018

Well after a long hiatus dealing with my cancer and creating 'real and new' projects with my partner HELENE LACELLE, i'm back at the helm of my life despite my Cancer.

Been having memory problems with FCPro7 since it's a very sophisticated software editing program ( yes i'm still using it and not X yet but will probably soon upgrade/change ... since google no longer updates FCPro7)

The question is whether to stay with FC or go Premier which cross platforms both Mac and Windows OS.

Anyway i'm working away on a series of short docs - 'cause they're cheap to make using digital gear and easier than fiction films that require actors/scripts etc.

Recently i've completed SOLITUDE shooting from my Kayak 'my panasonic 770 in one hand and my kayak paddle in the other' . Not sure if that qualifies as a 'run and gun' setup or a 'paddle&cam' style of shooting. But it's all very fast and very easy since i hand hold rather than 'rig a jig'

SOLITUDE was shot in 3 hours while the Fundy Tide and Spring ice melt raised the water levels on the Salmon River about 8' which made the riverside woods a water wonderland - no earth to be seen.

For we kayakers it was a miracle paddle weaving my way thru birches and pines floating on water instead of stepping on earth - very unique indeed.

Moments like this with make kayaking a true communing with nature event.

For those of us who experience nature 'real' not from our computer screens, the 'feel' of such an experience blossoms our spiritus sanctus.... it's naturally a religious definition of a miracle lived in reality.

I wish others could realize such experiences and as Archibald Lampman in 'Morning on the Lievre' poetically phrases 'and to experience joy like a child again'

p.s. just completing another short doc. REMNANTS which nostalgically traces the decline of the log river runs down the Salmon River to the mill - weaving the past with my present kayak paddle along the shore of the Salmon River documenting the remnants left of the old ways from those riverlogruns before they began hauling the logs with tractor trailers. 'rust never sleeps'

Tuesday, 2 January 2018

ahhh well - it's the CANCER - yes a modern health issue that so many of us have to endure and live with. In my case it's a lifelong problem that can NOT be eradicated so i have to make the best of my life while every 3 months i see the hematologist , the surgeon (4 major surgeries so far), and the oncologist to see if i'm gonna live another 3 months.Creative work never sleeps, like rust, so the saying goes... and it's that type of work i've been gifted to accomplish.Lately i've been creating with my life & creative partner, HELENE LACELLE, a series of photographs which we have developed creatively ( sorry for the excessive use of that word ) , the 'magic realism' developed in Mexico caught my attention years back and so using that as a 'muse' HELENE and I developed/created a new type of modern and traditional art form called 'MARVELOUS REALISM'

MARVELOUS REALISM combines my photographs with Helene's traditional art work and her amazing photo-shop embellishments - we've had numerous shows across the country and recently sent some accepted pieces to Venice as well. Sales are reasonable which is another plus indicating the acceptance and interest in our marvelous art work.

Now that long winded opening will get to my movie-making side. The side that inspires me a bit more - nothing wrong with a jpg but a mp4 is still more my love.

Since the cancer has slowed me down making feature length dramas seem to be too much for me these days, but; this is where my docs take over.

With the help of award winning editor, M.C. SARDA(The Fast Runner) and HELENE LACELLE , i accomplished making several longer length docs about a social subjecct close to my heart - mental illness and homelessness : MARKO's MANIA and THE POETRY OF PAYNE.

But even these proved to be difficult as my cancer progressed and an additonal 3 major surgeries/treatments really put me 'out of it' for a while and on my return to creative movie work, I discovered that mini docs on social/nature subjects could be accomplished even in my debilitated condition

Thus out sprang a plethora of mini docs on a variety of social and natural subjects. The latest is SOLITUDE where my love of kayaking and shooting digital image were combined to produce a very interesting 3 minute natural doc proving that 'art never sleeps'

Friday, 24 November 2017

we
had a pile of art, on the south walls, west walls and east walls and
H’s sculptures on stands .
that’s me leaning on CATHY BRAKE, curator/coordinator of Gallery - on my first after 5pm. outing in Ottawa for perhaps a year -

Saturday, 21 October 2017

The
Venice Vending Machine ( DISPENSING FREE ART )project is a “collaborative, participatory,
inclusive live art public installation”, conceived by Venetian artist
Marina Moreno. Its aim is to question the role and the value of Art in
our society, whilst aiming to promote emerging artists alongside some
famous and established ones. It creates an intriguing game for the
participants who feel compelled to enjoin and involve themselves in a
dialogue that the artist Marina creates in posing the question:

“How Do You Value Art?”

Since
the first Venice Vending Machine installation, it has involved over 250
artists from all over the world and has attracted professionals such as
curators, art historians and art collectors while extending the
possibility of an encounter with people that normally would not be
interested in “Art”.

The Venice Vending Machine Edition 5 will run from the 14th to the 22nd of October 2017 from 11.00 a.m. to 17.30 p.m.
@ the Giardini della Marinaressa (Seychelles Pavillion) Riva dei Sette Martiri Venice
Private view @ Palazzo Mora, Venice on the 14th October time TBC.

here i am a week back in
backyard tearing down fence i built 25 years ago and with Helene's help
building a new one in 8' sections on the flat then lifitng into place
and topping with squared lattice attachement - now all up

including the trellises that i hand make from cedar strips cut from 1x6" by 8' NB cedar boards

great to have
learned/developed these building skills - making our homes beautiful
with creative designs hand build by HELENE and I - a big deal for us -
i.e. it's like 'living art'

so many people think art is
something on a board hanging on a wall but in fact it's in our everyday
lives - living among beauty is living among art i.e. aint' that grand
folks

ok off the get my cancer
radiation markings .... then 5 days of intense radiation - to kill
spinal cancer development - hope all goes well and i get at least
another 5 years of life

Monday, 24 July 2017

FILM DIARY - PETER EVANCHUCK

THE LONG's AND SHORT's OF MY MOVIE LIFE

After more than a decade
absence from my filmmaking life, I returned to create with digital - not
easy for me to learn, not easy for me to do much after a decade of
fighting my cancer and near death surgeries and problems. Not fun but in
many ways a very
dramatic learning experience and proves my great affection for
creating.

Due to a major decrease in
energy, memory and strength and massive changing times old school film
folks like me had to give up or learn the ‘new school’ way of digital.

Many filmmakers I knew gave
up since they could not learn ‘new school’ or they turned to other
creative pursuits like photography, art, writing…. even sculpture. For
various reasons they did not see the magnificent opportunity digital
offered the low budget/no
budget artist/filmmaker/videographer.

Digital is the holy grail
of independent filmmaking. One with equipment can basically make a movie
totally alone from script to screen for peanuts. They just have to
burrow into learning something very new, very complex and very
competitive

In the 80’s I was one of
about 30 feature filmmakers in English Canada. PLATINUM came out at the
Montreal Film Fest to original reviews since it was not a common way to
make a feature or to structure a feature – I found myself with Jutra,
Agoyan and MacDonald
on panels fielding questions – heady days as the saying goes. Around
that same period I was editor/publisher of MOTIONmagazine highlighting
Canadian film.

Since dramatic ‘longs’
(features ) were my past interest, I headed in that direction with
digital but my illness curbed that notion since long days, exhaustive
schedules and dealing with numerous people put me back on the cancer
list.

Of course my love of creating using image/words never terminated.

I thought that an easy
alternative was docs and even easier is my style of shooting: reality as
it shows up on location: no artificial lighting, no scripted scenes, no
producers telling me what to do, no agencies involved. Just the
creative moments of making/creating
‘art’ …. Raw Art - the best kind.

After doing some
promotional/industrial projects to learn and make money, I swung into
making LONG docs with BACHELORS. Of course, I overshot my diminished
abilities and doing a cross country dramaDOC put me back on the cancer
list. Tests revealed a rise
in blood count and a lesion was detected in my brain which simply put
means, the end of it all.

The lesion proved to be dormant and detected in 2006 during my original scans. The new oncologist had made a mistake.

These experiences put me on a path back to photography with my
partner Helene Lacelle creating a new style of embellished photos called
MARVELOUS REALISM in a way taking from the famous Mexican style of
MAGICAL REALISM – things went very well and we had
fun back into our lives as well as unique ‘art creations'.

Then, back to digital movie-making when EUREKA the light went on and I
swung into the dreaded SHORT doc. And like most fears proved to me an
awakening rather than a hinderance of higher creative workings.

Since both shoulders suffered torn rotator cuffs/tendons and required
replacements, I could not lift my CanonA1s so I bought a very light
tiny PanLX7 – basically like all modern cameras a still cam with HD
video. This proved a great easy tool to make SHORTS
without pain then came the PAN770 another full HD camcorder. ( I tried
PANfx1000 4K but not for me at this time )

Since that early SHORT on NIAGARA FALLS , I included my love of solo
kayaking to combine solo KAYAKING with SOLOdocMAKING recently completing
several shorts using both (shot around Chipman our new homesweet)

I have found my grail – from LONGS to SHORTS and Peter's SHORTS are
getting shorter ….must be something to do with being an elder mmm??

P.S. after putting
BEAUTIFUL BACHELORS on hold Helene and I bought a Featherstone nobel
prize winning Plastic PIG for a pack of smokes and thus began CANADIAN
PIG GIRL IN WONDERLAND, a new movie - but designed to be shot when i
could with minimum actors
and marvelous scenery/scenes/places - a sad tale of redemption and
discovery of how a girl lost herself and found her voice through her
friendship with a pig - starring of course Helene Lacelle.

well since i last wrote anything lots have happened but what's on my mind lately is how we elders who have never given up , survive and what's the benefit of endurance.

well recently two items have made me 'keep the faith' of creativity in my life.

KEN LOACH's recent feature 'I DANIEL BLAKE' is right at the top of his dramatic skills - putting on screen 'real' people living 'real' lives. Reminds me of the early days in Quebec Cinema and in English Canadian Cinema with features like 'MON ONCLE ANTOINE', 'BAR SALON', 'THE BEST DAMN FIDDLER', 'GOING DOWN THE ROAD' and many others from that era. This is where our documentary tradition overwhelmed our sense of pretending drama into 'real' drama, real tragic events lived by real people - at least in those days that skill was almost normal for so many exceptional directors/filmakers. These features were 'lived' not invented with fake twists and turns catering to an pretend audience.

On that list of 'real' movies with the Canadian documentary 'feel' is Gordon Pinsent's 'THE ROWDYMAN' shot in Newfoundland, Pinsent's home province, near and around his home area of Grand Falls/CornerBrooke. Gordon lived that movie and told the real story not inventing fake news stories as silly some would 'trump' up.

Recently a documentary on Gordon's LIfe by Brigitte Berman 'THE RIVER OF MY DREAMS was screened at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and opened at a few theatres across Canada. It catalogues a actor/writer/director's life and sums up how 'never giving up' has made both Pinsent and Loach ikons of the silver screen.

These two octogenarians not only are surviving old age they are thriving in it creatively despite their health setbacks.

I DANIEl BLAKE is without doubt one of LOACH's best movies with harsh stories about contemporary British persons facing difficult times in a changing world they they can't manouver well. It's about older age told in such an honest and real manner that the viewer can 'feel' the hardships faced by a recently laid of worker stuggling to find meaning in his 'new' life.

Berman's homage to Pinsent gives us Gordon despite recent hear death experiences the fullness of this man's creative desire never to give up but reaching into his 90's with future hopes and dreams like a river that always flow forever streaming into the ocean of a full life.

All that being said, i have to admit that i've departed from my docs to create a new almost feature length ( formerly short movie ) movie called 'CANADIAN PIG GIRL - in wonderland'. Which i'm shooting digitally like a documentary i.e. real untouched locations, one camera recording a scene no script, no meetings, just going along developing it as we creatively 'feel' what should be added organically. And that's one secret of docMaking putting it together organically - i.e. 'keeping it real'.

Friday, 29 July 2016

NBFC Weekly Friday E-News

NBFC
member Ryan Groom has exciting news to unveil, see below for more details.

NBFC
members Peter Evanchuck and Helene Lacelle just finished a new short film. (Photo by Peter Evanchuck)

US

FILM DIARY - RYAN GROOM, HANWELL, NB

Just
signed my first contract with CBC to produce a documentary called
“Maritimes from Above” about landscape aerial videography, the
techniques, and regulations behind getting grand vistas with
the film industry’s hottest tool, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), or
what many call drones.

On
Saturday, my filming companions (Paul Archer & Jacob Groom) are
picking up our international travel buddy Rodney McAffee from the
Halifax Airport then driving to Nova Scotia to start filming.
After Nova Scotia we head to a few amazing places in New Brunswick in
the Sussex area, then to Grand Manan Island. We are just not taking
regular aerial shots but flying through gorges, caves, and between
massive trees to get unique video with our pair of
UAVs.

The documentary will be shot this summer, edited this fall, and will be shown on CBC next summer (2017).

Personality
I am nervous and excited (pumped!). I have been learning about
broadcast TV thanks to the generous support of Bell Aliant TV1 the last 4
years and now I got a chance to expand the
reach and tell a story on CBC taking all the lessons learned from past
adventures and wrapping them into an educating and entertaining 45
minutes!

Special
thanks to the Silver Wave Film Festival (and ultimately the NB Film
Co-op who hosts the festival) in facilitating the first meeting with CBC
last fall which lead to the full bloom of this
project.

Well …
almost time to pack the truck with cameras, drones, coffee, candy,
cables, and computers to start an unforgettable road trip with some of
my best friends in the whole world — to bring you,
Maritimes from Above.

Ryan Groom on location somewhere in the world.

FILM DIARY - PETER EVANCHUCK & HELENE LACELLE, CHIPMAN, NB

PigGirl is a new short drama by Peter Evanchuck and Helene Lacelle.

Marshall
McCluhan always seemed to be laying down on his leather couch in his
office at University of Toronto when I dropped by back in time. He was
always looking for an audience to reveal his
latest thoughts on pop media.

Of course his concept of the Global Village has
come true with the saturation of digital technology and all it's
offspring like youtube, facebook, etc., etc., and the mightiest of all the
selfie; that pathetic need we all have to show our stuff, flourished when digital gave it freedom of exposure.

Those
of us who use digital to make movies are married to a heavenly SD card -
'because it costs next to nothing, one can learn all they have to learn
to make selfie movies - i.e. learn
to do all the jobs that used to take ten, now takes one. Well not exactly but, if you really want to make a selfie movie drama or doc. it's now possible and, in fact, rather popular.

I
joined that bandwagon quickly when I returned to making movies after a
decade hiatus. At first, I went back to the technology I knew and the
equipment I had purchased over the years to make
feature fiction movies: Arriflex, CP16, Nagra, Senni mics, Steinbecks,
etc. (the CP16 was a layover from my days shooting for the Wide World of Sports.
A great simple camera that never fails weights a ton but never fails).
That old technology is
excellent but tedious for someone prolific and renegade It's just too
expensive and, too cumbersome and too slow. Digital is the opposite,
it's cheap, light and fast.

Being a
solo type guy whose partner is an actor/artist (Helene), it was made for
me and, others like me so, buying the new equipment was mandatory.

Armed
with relatively good pro/semi pro equipment, I can make all the short
docs i want for next to nothing compared to film costs. I still use/hire
an excellent editor for the important docs
but, for the fun ones I do all the jobs myself with my partner's
invaluable assistance.

Cancer
having overtaken my extreme lifestyle and made it quieter and more
sober, digital's advantages have fallen right into my weakened
condition; so cheap, light, fast - despite my cancer allows
me to continue to make movies albeit mostly docs which take so little
to make. Compared to dramas, they and digital are a perfect match.

So, PigGirl comes
along because our neighbour in Chipman had this pig on his front lawn
for years. Helene bought it from him for a pack of smokes. Now I don't
need much of a muse to get
creating new ideas, scripts, projects. The pig was all I needed and,
with Helene's marvelous help PIGGIRL was born and is now in
pre-producton.